Bills aim to loosen UA's grip on UAB

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - In the next legislative session, state Rep. John Rogers plans to introduce two bills.

One would restructure the board that oversees the University of Alabama, UAB and University of Alabama Huntsville to require equal representation from graduates of all three schools among the trustees.

The other bill would sever UAB's connection to the UA System Board and allow it to have its own board.

"I've got both bills ready to go, and we're going to see which bill we can get the most traction on," Rogers says.

The bills are not new. Rogers, D-Birmingham, has introduced both in previous years and neither had much life. But if the UA System board allows UAB's football program to die -- and many alums, players and fans feel that is exactly what the board wants to happen -- a legislative solution to UAB's inability to control its future could be viable.

Rogers said the UA System Board favors the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and treats UAB like a "second-class citizen," especially when it comes to the college's football program. After the board nixed the university's hiring of Jimbo Fisher as head coach in 2006 and a proposal for an on-campus stadium in 2011, many alums and fans felt the same way. This month, former players wondered aloud in a letter to UAB President Ray Watts if UAB football will continue to exist past 2016.

John Rogers (Frank Couch/AL.com)Frank Couch

"I love Alabama. I think Alabama is a fine school," Rogers, who retired this month as UAB's Director of Minority Affairs, says. "But so is UAB."

"We've outgrown the Board of Trustees, really," Rogers says. Asked what the advantage is to UAB in staying in the UA System board, he says, "I can't see the benefit to it."

How would that process work?

State. Rep Jack WilliamsMelissa Brown | mbrown@al.com

"The UA System is established by the state Constitution," said Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills. "To change the makeup of that board, or to sever one entity's relationship with that board would require an amendment to the Alabama Constitution."

That means, Williams says, "62 votes in the House, 21 votes in the Senate, and a majority vote at the polls."

Williams is not yet considering proposals like Rogers', four months from the beginning of the 2015 legislative session. But, should the UA System board kill UAB football, he says legislators might take notice and Rogers' proposals could gain some steam.

"If the board shoots (football) down, I think it may force folks in the Legislature and legislative leaders to take a look at what the board is doing, and start asking some questions about it," Williams says. "And, ultimately, the Legislature controls the purse strings for the UA System."

Positivity at UAH

Rep. Phil Williams. (AL.com file photo)Paul Gattis | pgattis@al.com

The trustees would likely lobby hard to maintain the board's control over all three schools in the UA System, Williams says.

"In my opinion, the pressure that the UA System would bring on a UAB or a UAH would be enormous, and we've barely scratched the surface of that," Phil Williams said.

"Put it this way -- it would be the biggest decision happening in the State of Alabama," Phil Williams said.

But Phil Williams has seen the mere threat of dissolving the UA System have some success. In 2012, he co-sponsored a Rogers bill that would have separated UAH and UAB from the UA System. But, before the bill could even be introduced, he dropped his support. The dissolution proposal ginned up some positive communication between Huntsville and the UA System.

He is now pleased with an increased emphasis on research at UAH, the restoration of the hockey program, and the performance of the new UAH president, Robert Altenkirch, among other things. The consideration of the severance bill helped UAH "establish an identity in the UA Syst e m ."

"While it was kind of extreme -- are we going to take UAH out of the system? -- I think it led to improvements in our ability to communicate," Williams said. "There's just a ton of positive news coming out of UAH that I don't think was there just a short two years ago."

Rogers is still committed to the idea of an independent UAB, but realizes that bill might not have the best chance in the Legislature.

"I would rather pull out, withdraw from the board of trustees, but, being realistic, you'd probably have a better chance of changing the makeup of the board," he says.

The original version of this story said John Rogers is currently employed at UAB, but he has retired.